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View Full Version : Walk in Walts Footsteps? Whats it like?



HBTiggerFan
07-07-2002, 01:43 PM
My friend and I were thinking of doing this tour as something different when we go.

What is it like? Where do you go? What do they tell you? Do you still get to look into Walts Apartment?

Its listed as $16 per person, is it worth it? Are there AP discounts?

mcampisi
07-07-2002, 03:18 PM
I'd like to hear about this tour from the "I already knew it all" standpoint for those who have gone on it. Might be fun to add to our vacation this month.

leota's necklace
07-07-2002, 04:21 PM
My husband and I took this tour last fall. It was included in the price of our package from AAA.

The tour started at City Hall and meandered through much of the Park: down Main Street, over to the Castle, to Frontierland, NOS, and ended in the Gallery.

It was a treasure trove of trivia and quite interesting. I have a feeling the length of the tour and its contents might vary from CM to CM. Our tour took about two hours. I don't recommend it after a couple of hard days in the Parks :)

My only nitpick was that our CM tended to fall back on verbal fillers when she was gathering her thoughts...so we heard the phrases "It's kinda interesting" and "to this day" several hundred times, or so it seemed.

But to get a feeling of Walt's vision for the Park, and to see all the little touches he left, it's tops. I'd recommend it.

mad4mky
07-07-2002, 06:25 PM
My husband and I took this tour a year ago...on a very rainy Saturday.
We had a great guide, who you could tell, not only knew Disneyland well, but it was obvious that he LOVED the park and Walt's ideas and accomplishments.

But, although I thought I knew a lot about the park...I learned so much more. It was fun, and as you go, you learn about Walt's ideas and plans...and how they changed as either the park was being built, or after the park opened.

I would reccommend this tour for anyone...even the so-called "Disney Experts" out there. :D

I just hope you are as lucky to get a great guide as we had.
We ran into the guide 3 months later when we were down again with our kids. We told him how much we enjoyed the tour, and you could tell he was geniunely happy to hear that...

cyberRoo
07-07-2002, 08:19 PM
We took the tour a couple of years ago and also really enjoyed it. Be prepared for a lot of walking and fun trivia. There are supposedly changes in the works, but there hasn't been any news about that lately.

Incidentally, I think there is an discount for using your AmEx card (half price).

Kuzcotopia
07-07-2002, 10:11 PM
I didn't like it.

The person I got as host didn't tell me any stories I hadn't heard before, and he told some that are apochryphal at best. There didn't seem to be any real insight, just repetition of some of the hoary old chestnut stories we've heard before.

Walt wanting a place to take his daughters on "Daddy's Day."
Walt had an apartment over the fire station... sorry, the tour doesn't see it.
Walt was helping paint the night before the park opened.
The orange trees to be saved had a different color ribbon around them than the ones to be bulldozed. The dozer operator was color-blind.
Disney's Burbank studio was designed to double as a hospital.
Walt's own miniature train set in his yard was the inspiration for the railroad.


A lot of people don't know these stories... but usually those aren't the people taking this tour. These stories are the FIRST ones related in any tv show or any book about Disneyland. They're the quotes straight out of every souvenier book they sell at the park.

I'd like them to do some better research than just that for the tour. Talk to the people who designed some of the rides for Walt, and have them relate WHY Walt wanted something the way it is. Why is the Castle pink? Is it because he thought that both Frontierland and Tomorrowland favored the boys? Was the drawbridge meant to be opened and closed all the time, or just on opening day? Was Disneyland designed with the lands as the cardinal points on a compass for a reason, or was it just so it would read well on a map? Why do the trains go clockwise? What area was Walt's Favorite to sit in? Eat at? Ride? When Walt was in the park, did he spend his time greeting people, riding rides, watching operations? What did Walt think about Disneyland's role as an ambassador for America? How did he promote that role?


You will learn none of those things on this tour. And unless your question is one of the ones that the average sweeper can answer, you'll get an "I don't know" from the guide. If it's not on the memorized guide speech, it's not going to be part of the tour, which is a big shame.

I would say it's a waste of money.

hbquikcomjamesl
07-08-2002, 07:51 AM
I couldn't disagree more with Kuzcotopia.

I've taken it every year, on July 4th, since its inception. And every time I take it, it's slightly different. The first year or two, it included the Lilly Belle (the private VIP "business car" that normally runs at the end of one of the trains). One year, I was the entire tour group for the day, and the guide and I were practically finishing each other's sentences the whole time (since I was the entire tour group, she didn't seem to mind, though it's probably embarrassing when there is more than one guest on the tour). Last year, the total running time for the tour was the shortest it's ever been, shorter than even the time when I had the guide all to myself, and could skip the anecdotes I already knew. This year was the longest it's ever been, longer even than it was when it included the Lilly Belle, even though the guide left out the "credit" windows on Main Street.

Kuzcotopia must have gotten a worse guide than any I've ever had. (And this year's wasn't exactly the best, since he was a bit verbose, as well as apparently under the impression that coral comes from petrified wood. Opals and agates, maybe, but coral?!?)

Given that the tour varies from year to year, and from guide to guide, and from group to group, it follows the approximate route Walt generally took for his daily pre-opening inspection tours, usually beginning by walking out the tunnel to the "inner lobby," and talking about how the red brick pavement (originally red concrete) and long entry tunnels evolved from Walt's desire for a red-carpeted inner lobby, and functioning curtains at the entrance tunnels. There's usually also some discussion of the "Mickey" flowerbed on the station lawn.

The tour then continues in Town Square, possibly entering the Lincoln lobby, then goes up Main Street, usually pointing out a few of the "credit" windows, and usually also discussing the "Partners" statue in the Plaza Hub. The tour then typically enters Fantasyland, usually pausing at the benchmark that was the original geographic center of the park. It then usually goes around the Matterhorn, into the North edge of Tomorrowland, returning to the Plaza through the "Little Mermaid"-themed area around the foundation of the old Monsanto "House of the Future." The tour then goes into Frontierland, pointing out the "big rock" Walt gave Lillian as an anniversary present, then enters the apartment Walt never lived to use (i.e, the Disney Gallery), through the original front door, pointing out the original functions of the various rooms. Finally, the tour ends up at the big fountain by the HM.

It's worth it, and because it's different every time, it's worth repeating.

tjrj
07-08-2002, 08:05 AM
Our family of four took the tour about 2 years ago. You can usually find coupons in the back of some of the better known guidebooks as well-half off. Also, if you book a package the tour can be your "magic feature" rather than a character breakfast-still true as of last year.

At the time of our tour, our boys were 7 and 13. I found that it(the tour) wasn't a success. Here's why: we were part of a large-IMO-group-15-20; the tour guide was brand new to her job-she admitted it in her introduction-therefore, all of the info. we heard was nothing that we hadn't heard, read, saw, learned before; being responsible, considerate parents-we kept our family towards the back of the group-just in case the boys got rowdy-they didn't but we thought it was best to be prepared-therefore we couldn't hear the tour guide at all well. Truly think that a microphone would be very helpful in a larger tour group.

Because so much of this tour's success depends on the tour guide and the size of the group, I really want to take it again-hopefully with a more experienced guide.

If you do that the tour, I hope that you have more success than we had.

RStar
07-08-2002, 09:51 AM
Hey HB Tiggs!

I've always wanted to take that tour myself! Have fun! (I wish they went into Walt's old appartment! But it's still quite exclusive).

If you have a Disneyclub card you can get a good discount (I think 50% off). I don't know about APs.

Bob

HBTiggerFan
07-08-2002, 12:04 PM
thanks everyone! I think we are going to be taking the tour sometime in September after it cools down a bit and the crowds thin out :)

wonderful
07-08-2002, 06:40 PM
Granted, some folks may know many of the stories told on the tour... but it is a "history" tour, MOST folks know the history behind history tours or they wouldn't be interested in the tour...
Example, tours of old Civil War/WWII battlefields-- most folks know what happened, it's the feeling of sharing the stories AGAIN, the feeling of "revisiting" something you might have forgotten that really draws folks to a tour like this...
Your "I wish they would do more research..." comment is a little harsh... talking about the stories that are "uniquely Walt" (like his breakthroughs and struggles) is FUN, talking about "what Walt touched" and "where Walt sat" is, frankly, creepy...
I am sorry you didn't have a good experience, but, from your post, I would venture to say the guide didn't have a chance going out of the gate.

Kuzcotopia
07-08-2002, 08:25 PM
The fact that I spent money to take a tour that I could have led myself, with fewer factual errors, makes this a tour that I couldn't recommend. Some people, James for example, enjoys the tour, even though he knows most of the info. He finds the tour itself enjoyable rather than informative. I took the tour, not for the experience of taking a tour of Disneyland, but because I thought I could learn something. I didn't learn anything other than that I should be more careful with my money ;-)

James talked about the pointing out of the windows. Our guide pointed to the windows as well and told us what most of us knew, that prominent retirees from Disneyland are honored with windows on Main Street. What the guide DIDN'T do is talk about ANY of them, who the people are or what their contributions to the park were. She didn't even point out Elias Disney's window. That one's a no-brainer!

There are many more stories of Walt out there, some in the wonderful new books about Walt's and Roy's lives. For example, I learned many many things about Walt from the new film on Walt they play at California Adventure. That's the kind of info I would have loved to learn on that tour, but the host had no knowledge of any of that.

Our tour didn't include the Lily Belle, which is a shame.... that would have been worth the price of admission. Our person was new, she said, but after two of my questions were met with an "I don't know" and a look like "and I'm not going to even suggest a place you could find the answer", I stopped asking questions remained silent for the rest of the tour.

HBTiggerFan
07-08-2002, 08:40 PM
She didn't even point out Elias Disney's window. That one's a no-brainer!

Well then I must not have a brain, I have never seen any of the windows even though I know they are there. <GASP> How dare I call myself a Disney fan :confused: I must go turn in my AP now. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

Kuzcotopia
07-08-2002, 09:35 PM
Well it sounds like the tour is more geared for you then. Take some of the stories they tell with a grain of salt, don't believe the story about the orange trees or the hospital, remember that coral is not petrified wood, and you should do well.

There are all types of Disney fans, and everyone can give you a different opinion on what they like and don't like. I didn't like this, but you might! Give it a shot!

For my experience, 16 bucks a person is a bit much to spend so that someone can point at windows that I can see for free. Had the Lily Belle been on the tour, as I said, THAT would have been worth it.

wonderful
07-08-2002, 10:22 PM
Er... I really hate to turn this into an "argument post", so I will give HB Tigger some FACTS about the "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" Tour, and I'll let you make your own decision--- I'd highly suggest it and I would LOVE to be your guide...
The tour was introduced in 1996 because many people asked for something that would serve as a fun history/trivia activity for Disneyana fans. Since then it has become the most popular tour in the park's history... there have been about four or five, the longest standing being the "welcome" tour. The tour roughly covers Walt's personal history from Illinois to California-- "roughly" meaning you probably won't find out when Walt learned how to tie his shoes (but we're working on it!). Guests get a chance to hear about some of the original plans, how those plans evolved, and what Walt envisioned back then that is just being accomplished today.
This tour really gives a different perspective on the only park Walt ever walked in. Apparently it's not everyone's cup of tea, but neither was Walt when he was alive, or Disneyland, or Snow White... right? I would say if you here about there being orange trees in Anaheim, it's pretty much true... and if someone tells you the studios were supposed to become a hospital, well that came from a conversation Walt had with his father durring a walk through of his very expensive studio building in burbank... and you might hear about that conversation on the tour. I seriously hope you have a great time.